Fish in a Barrel, Lions in a Cage

In early December 2003, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney went hunting. He and nine guests spent the day shooting ringneck pheasants and mallard ducks at the exclusive Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. According to local news reports, the Cheney party shot a total of 417 pheasants, and Cheney himself killed 70; the number of ducks dispatched was not disclosed. The birds were collected, plucked, and vacuum-packed by club staff.

Although Cheney, an avid hunter, then enjoyed a reputation as an excellent shot, his success on this occasion was not entirely due to his skill as a marksman. The birds that his party killed were not wild; they were raised in pens as hunting fodder and released by club staff when the hunters were ready to shoot. It is rather surprising, then, that of the 500 birds set loose for the Cheney party, more than a few—83, to be exact—managed to escape.

The vice president’s participation in a “canned hunt”—the killing of an animal for entertainment or trophy in artificial or manipulated circumstances designed to give the animal little or no chance of escape—prompted a flurry of criticism from animal-welfare and animal-rights groups. A few newspapers reported the reaction, causing Cheney some brief embarrassment, but there was no public outcry.

“No kill, no pay”

Although canned hunting has been practiced (not always legally) in South Africa and some neighboring countries for many decades, it is relatively new in the United States. Nevertheless, there are now more than 1,000 so-called “hunting preserves” or “game ranches” on private land in more than 25 states; more than 750 of them are located in Texas. These enterprises offer prospective hunters the opportunity to kill—with rifle, pistol, or bow and arrow—any of hundreds of native or exotic animal species in circumstances that virtually guarantee success. Indeed, several canned-hunting parks advertise a “no kill, no pay” policy, under which the client pays nothing unless he takes home a trophy or a skin (or a vacuum-packed bird). Hunting licenses are usually not required.

It is thus in the financial interests of canned-hunting parks to make it easy for clients to kill animals. This is accomplished in a variety of ways, depending on the size of the park, the species in which it specializes, the character of the terrain, the extent to which the client is willing to exert himself for the sake of an “authentic” hunting experience, and the existence of any restrictions imposed by state or local laws.

All canned-hunting parks that specialize in land mammals have a reinforced fence, which prevents the animals from simply walking away, though a small number do manage to overcome this obstacle. (Birds are usually kept in cages until just before they are shot.) Although most parks occupy a few hundred to several thousand acres, the animals in them do not always roam freely over the total area. It is typical for certain kinds of animals to be restricted within much smaller enclosures by fences or other artificial barriers. In some parks, clients with a minimum of skill, energy, or time can kill animals in a fenced enclosure of only a few square yards. For the truly impatient or incompetent hunter, some parks will even sedate the animal or tie it to a stake.

Even in parks where it is not possible to shoot animals in a cage at point-blank range, the assistance of guides makes it much easier for the client to locate his prey. Guides are intimately familiar with the terrain and the habits of the animals, including the areas in which they rest and feed. Indeed, many parks have constructed feeding stations, salt licks, or watering holes precisely in order to attract animals to locations where they may be easily shot. Feeding times are coordinated with the clients’ arrival at the station, so that no one is made to wait too long for his kill. The blinds or towers in which the clients hide are designed to make clean shots easy and the minimal waiting-time comfortable. After the client poses for a picture with the dead animal, park staff gut it and make a trophy of the skin or the decapitated head; the entire animal may be stuffed if the client so desires.

Needless to say, canned hunting is an expensive hobby. Most parks charge a fee for each land mammal the client kills; lodging, food, guides, and taxidermy services are usually extra. In the United States, the 777 Ranch, in San Antonio, Texas, charges $2,000 to more than $11,500 to kill a single white-tailed deer (the price depends on the “score” the animal receives on a scale established by the Boone and Crockett Club to rate big-game trophies). And whereas zebras can be shot for only $4,500 each, clients pay $20,000 each for alpine ibex and $50,000 each for cape buffalo. In South Africa, where a well-established hunting industry caters to wealthy European and American tourists, the average cost of shooting a lion in a canned hunt in 2007 was about $50,000.

The lodging provided by most parks is comparable in service and convenience to good-quality hotels. Clients are typically driven from lodges to shooting sites and back by guides and other staff.

Captive breeders and animal farms

The variety of species that it is possible to shoot in these parks is impressive, ranging from antelope, bison, bear, and white-tailed deer to elk, giraffe, African lion, moose, ostrich, wildebeest, and zebra; popular bird species include duck, dove, quail, and pheasant. Nonnative species are obtained from domestic and overseas captive breeders, “animal farms,” and animal dealers; some of the latter act as middlemen for zoos and circuses that are eager to get rid of older animals in order to make room for crowd-pleasing babies. Animal farms in the United States supply species that are shot in large numbers, such as quail and pheasant, or species that are especially sought after for their trophies or skins. Most farms and captive breeders in South Africa specialize in “big-game” animals—especially lions, tigers, cheetahs, and leopards. The animals are sometimes genetically manipulated to produce rare or attractive characteristics; white lions or lions with large black manes, for example, fetch much higher prices than more ordinary-looking animals. (According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, live white lions in South Africa have been sold to canned-hunting parks for as much as $100,000 each.)

Many animals raised by breeders or on farms become accustomed to the presence of human beings, and some, depending on the species, may be practically tame by the time they encounter a rugged outdoorsman and his guide in a canned-hunting park. The fact that these animals do not instinctively flee at the sight of approaching humans makes them much easier to shoot than animals that are truly wild.

Objections to canned hunting

The proliferation of canned hunting has encouraged an odd alliance between, on the one hand, animal-welfare and animal-rights organizations—such as the Humane Society of the United States and Paws4LifeAfrica—and, on the other, traditional prohunting organizations such as the Boone and Crockett Club and the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (PHASA). The latter groups object to canned hunting on the grounds that it ignores the principle of “fair chase,” which states that the circumstances of the hunt and the condition of the animal must be such that it has a fair chance of evading the hunter in its natural habitat by means of its naturally developed instincts and capabilities. Some pro-hunting groups have interpreted the fair-chase principle to mean that properly conducted hunts will result in the escape of the animal most of the time. But however the principle is understood, it is clear that it is not respected by canned-hunting parks; most do not even pretend to observe it, and some even trumpet the fact that they do not.

Another common objection to canned hunting is that it usually entails a great deal more suffering for the animal than fair-chase hunts conducted for food or to reduce the size of herds. Because in most cases the canned-hunting client wishes to take home a handsome trophy, he will avoid shooting the animal in the neck or the head and instead aim for the abdomen (often hitting only the flanks). The usual result is that the animal dies slowly and in agony after being shot several times. This is especially true in cases where the rugged outdoorsman uses a bow and arrow: most of these unfortunate creatures die of blood loss rather than organ damage.

The legal front

In the United States there is no federal law regarding canned hunting. In 2005 Congress defeated a proposed Sportsmanship in Hunting Act, which would have prohibited the interstate transport of exotic species for the purpose of hunting for entertainment or trophy. As of 2005 the canned hunting of mammals was completely banned in 11 states and partially banned in eight others.

In South Africa, legislation proposed in 2006 would have forbidden the hunting of large predators and rhinoceros that had been bred in captivity, except in cases where (1) the animal had been released to the wild and had fended for itself for at least 24 months and (2) the animal was killed in an “extensive wildlife environment.” Although the law did not define “extensive wildlife environment” or even “canned hunting,” the country’s lion-breeding industry objected to the 24-month free-roaming period, and the effective date of the law was postponed to February 2008. In January 2008, South Africa’s minister of environmental affairs temporarily removed lions from the protection of the act pending the outcome of a suit brought by lion-breeding industry.

Back in the United States, Dick Cheney continues to enjoy shooting pen-raised birds at the Rolling Rock Club and other canned-hunting venues. Since 2003, however, the details of his outings have been more carefully guarded.

26 Comments

I am a student has who been studying about canned hunts for a project and I think it is cruel and unethical crime even though its not illegal. It should be banned. I actually wrote a blog, I would like to promote the wrongness of canned Hunts.http://cannedhunts.blogspot.com

I think you people need to get a life and actually make something of your selves instead of just being a bunch of treehugging ________ and mind your own business when it comes to hunting and all other outdoor activities!

If the best you can do is call names and point fingers, I will continue hugging trees and extending compassion to all living beings…including you. How sad that you do not see that the animals, too, are experiencing this hunt, and they are paying with their lives.

“Hunters Wrights”? Okay First your signature says it all concerning your level of schooling and intelligence. Hunters Rights not Wrights. Second no ethical hunter would participate in a canned hunt. For them the thrill is in the chase not the kill. Really the only people who would participate in canned hunts are lazy or inept (sorry forgot your level of intelligence http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inept) hunters or sociopaths who simply like killing and lack empathy or a conscious. And just so your not confused, my husband and son both hunt I come from a hunting family and was raised on a farm. I am not a “tree-hugger” but we do believe in taking care of our land and natural resources and treating animals with compassion, even if they are destined to be on our table. Canned hunts have nothing to do with HUNTING but everything to do with KILLING for the sake of killing. The definition says it all
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hunt [huhnt] verb (used with object)
1.to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.
2.to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture
3.to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find
4.to search (a place) thoroughly.
5.to scour (an area) in pursuit of game.

advocate for hunters wrights wat the h___ r u trying to say?you hate animals or something cuz if you do you than you better thank them for giving you food cuz with out them we can die so im not saying hunting is bad im just saying dont hunt alot

I too am a student, i am studying the abnormal behaviors shown within captive animals, often in an unfair and cruel environment. So when i was researching this, i came across this canned hunting, i didn’t even know this was going on. Surely in a civilized modern day society such as South Africa, they would have the common sense and decency to put a stop to something like this. O’ and “hunter’s rights”, are you honestly that backwards, delusional and selfish to promote unnecessary hunting and killing of innocent animals?

My dad tells stories of how when he was young, growing up in a big rural family without a lot of money, they used to *have* to hunt (rabbits, birds, sometimes deer in autumn) for the meat it would provide them. That was one of their main sources of protein. We kids felt lucky because we didn’t have to go through that.

This is such a warped thing for rich folks to be spending their money on, I’ll never understand it.

Advocate for hunter rights? You should have no rights as a hunter unless you need to kill to eat! Failing that your nothing more than a selfish murderer who kills for his own gratification. Disgusting!
I’d love to see some modern day hunters standing toe to toe with a wild boar/big cat. I’ve had the privelage of working with both game and wild animals in Africa and South America, and I tell you now, a tame lion reacts completely different to a fright or sudden pain that a wild one. These “hunters” as they call themselves are no more than kids at the fair taking pot shots and animals with an extreme disadvantage. They should feel very ashamed.

nice comment… Advocate for hunter rights? You should have no rights as a hunter unless you need to kill to eat! Failing that your nothing more than a selfish murderer who kills for his own gratification. Disgusting!
I’d love to see some modern day hunters standing toe to toe with a wild boar/big cat. I’ve had the privelage of working with both game and wild animals in Africa and South America, and I tell you now, a tame lion reacts completely different to a fright or sudden pain that a wild one. These “hunters” as they call themselves are no more than kids at the fair taking pot shots and animals with an extreme disadvantage. They should feel very ashamed.